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AmberRose, 4 years agoWow this is really neat. Do you have a family history of all seven children?

mswhite, 4 years agoThank you for your comment. Yes, I do have a history of all seven, actually three more children were born after 1920, when I believe this picture was taken. I grew up around my great-grandmother and her children ( at one point, lived with my grandmother and greatgrandmother), also grew up aroundseveral of my greatgrandmother's sisters ! I feel blessed to say this ! Thank you again for your comment.

Thank you! Thank you! Thank You! Thank you for that beautiful introduction. I came into existence July 12, 1887. Oh, what a glorious day. I started out as wilderness land in a dense swampy region in Bolivar County, Mississippi, located between Memphis, Tennessee and Vicksburg, Mississippi. Isaiah T. Montgomery and his cousin, Benjamin T. Green, seized the opportunity to purchase acres of land from Louisville, New Orleans and Texas Railway Railroad to develop a town where Blacks could live out the American dream. I was born. They sent correspondence to their friends to announce my birth and word of the Mound Bayou experiment spread. Men and women worked tirelessly around the clock to ensure my survival. They were confronted with numerous setbacks in the early stages of my life but refused to abandon me. Men cleared acres of land, constructed homes, and took turns protecting settlers from animals looming in the wild. In 1887, around twelve families settled my land. Within a year of conception, more than 100 settlers occupied my land and nourished the soil that grew corn and cotton. Green enlisted the help of the Montgomerys and started the first cotton gin and a small supply store in town. Green lost his life on February 24, 1896.

My settlers understood the importance of education to the survival of the community. Montgomery and his sister, Virginia, opened a school in Montgomery’s home serving as Mound Bayou Public School. Virginia became the school’s first principal. The school eventually moved to Greengrove Baptist Church. In the early 1900s, the people responsible for my upbringing ultimately built the first and only high school that catered to Blacks in Bolivar County that went to the 12th grade. The school was named Bolivar County Training School and later renamed Mound Bayou High School. Numerous schools opened on my soil. The schools produced some of the greatest minds that have contributed greatly to the community. On my soil, the students did not have to imagine the potential Blacks could achieve in the segregated South, they saw it firsthand.

“The first policeman I ever knew was a Negro; the first mayor I knew was a Negro; the first shop owner I knew was a Negro. Until I left Mound Bayou, I thought Negroes owned the world.” Percy S. Winfield

Montgomery also had high dreams of relocating Bethel A.M. E. Church’s Campbell College, which offered classes in Vicksburg and Friars Point, to my soil. Montgomery secured some thousand acres of land from the railroad company to build Campbell College. However, in 1898, the A.M.E. church decided to move Campbell College to Jackson, Mississippi. I was disappointed. In later years, discussions concerning relocating Campbell College to my soil resurfaced. I felt rejuvenated and inspired. However, the plan failed to transpire due to mishandling of funds and the college eventually closed its doors in Jackson in 1965. The frames of the college structure are still standing on the land reserved for the school. I still have hope that the A.M.E. Church will resurrect Bonner-Campbell College and bring her home where she belongs. Bethel A.M.E. Church, I am still waiting.

Some of my most notable residents include:
Isaiah T. Montgomery – born into slavery on May 21, 1847 to Benjamin T. and Mary Montgomery on Hurricane Plantation owned by Joseph Davis. His father taught him how to read and write. Young Isaiah worked in Davis’s home where he had extensive use of Davis’s library and read many books. Montgomery started a cotton business on the plantation and Ursino that yielded two to three thousand bales annually. Montgomery was one of the most successful cotton producers in the state of Mississippi. In 1875, after experiencing a decline in cotton, Montgomery decided to exit the cotton business and moved to Vicksburg. After battling poor health, Montgomery recovered and co-founded Mound Bayou and Campbell College in 1887. In 1890, Montgomery made around $30,000 from his cotton shipment business and another $20,000 from his real estate interest. Montgomery was also very active in politics. He served as a delegate at the Warren County Republican Convention. Montgomery was also an elected member to the Mississippi Constitutional Convention of 1890 as a delegate from Bolivar County for the Republican Party. Montgomery served as mayor of Mound Bayou and resigned after accepting an appointment by President Roosevelt as the receiver of Public Monies. He died in 1924.
Benjamin T. Green – born on Davis Bend Plantation in 1854. He co-founded Mound Bayou. His shrewd business acumen played a key role in the establishment of Mound Bayou.
Benjamin A. Green – son of founder Benjamin T. Green and first child born in the town. Green graduated from Harvard Law School in 1914 and served as mayor of the town for forty-one years until his death–making him the longest serving mayor in Mound Bayou’s history.
Mrs. Charlotte Montgomery Strong – first female born in Mound Bayou and daughter of founder, Isaiah T. Montgomery.
Frederick H. Miller – Third General President of Alpha Phi Alpha Fraternity. He also helped establish the I.T. Montgomery Lodge #664 of the Improved Benevolent Protection Order of Elks of the World.
J.H. Moseley – first principal of Bolivar County Training School in Mound Bayou.
Frank B. Hood – Essayist.
Sir P. M. Smith – one of the Founders of the International Order of Twelve Knights and Daughters of Tabor.
G.W. Burt Sr. – Mound Bayou’s Photographer and owner of a portrait studio in the early 1900s.
Mrs. A. A. Harris- responsible for establishing Baptist College (Mound Bayou Industrial College) in the early 1900s.
Henrietta Clegg – started teaching private music classes to students in Mound Bayou in 1914 before opening Clegg School which continued to train students in music until Clegg retired in 1977.
Dr. A. A. Cosey – Chief Grand Mentor of The Mississippi Jurisdiction of The International Order of Twelve, Knights and Daughters of Tabor—Corresponding Secretary of The National Baptist Benefit Association. Cosey was a minister and businessman. He was a stockholder and Secretary of the Mound Bayou Oil Mill and Manufacturing Company, Vice-President of the Bank of Mound Bayou, owned over 100 acres of land, and rented out dozens of homes.
A. P. Hood – Trainmaster and author of the “Negro at Mound Bayou.” Hood finished out Mr. Montgomery’s term as mayor.
Beatrice Felder – founded The Opportunity Center Kindergarten in 1932 in Mound Bayou.
Charles Banks – started the first bank in Mound Bayou, organized and elected president of the Mississippi Negro Business League, and organized the Mound Bayou Oil Mill and Manufacturing Company. With help from Booker T. Washington, Banks played an important role in helping to secure the Carnegie Library for Mound Bayou and the Anna T. Jeanes Fund used to encourage and develop schools in rural areas. Banks was also responsible for choosing an agricultural expert to teach farmers the best farming practices in the area.
Mrs. Mary C. Booze – daughter of Isaiah T. Montgomery. Booze served as the Republican National Committeewoman. She also owned sawmill, gin, and 1000 acres of land with her husband, Eugene Booze.
Mrs. P. R. McCarty - owned 800 acres of land, a gin, and mercantile business in Mound Bayou.
Mrs. M. E. Davis - owned a bottling company which made soft drinks in Mound Bayou.
Miss Cornella Marr – manager of the early Southern Bell Telephone Company in Mound Bayou.
Dr. T. R. M. Howard – first chief surgeon of Taborian Hospital located in Mound Bayou. Howard was also a civil rights activist who mentored Medgar Evers, Fannie Lou Hamer, Aaron Henry, Amzie Moore and also responsible for bringing national attention to the Emmit Till case. Howard helped to establish the Mississippi Regional Council for Negro Leadership whose motto was “Don’t buy gas where you can’t use the rest room.” He also founded an insurance company, restaurant, home construction firm, built the first zoo, park, and first swimming pools for Blacks in Mississippi in Mound Bayou. He left the Knights and Daughter and started the United Order of Friendship of America and opened the Friendship Clinic renamed the Sarah Brown Hospital.
Matthew Holden Jr. – renowned political scientist and author of The Isaiah T. Montgomery Studies, Inc.
Milburn Crowe – Mound Bayou historian.
Val Gray Ward – founder of Kuumba Theater in Chicago, Illinois. In 2003, Ward released a CD “Rhapsody in Hughes 101.”
Katie Green Hall - served in the Indiana House of Representatives and U.S Representative from Indiana.
C. Preston Holmes - former Mound Bayou Postmaster and oldest living resident who recently turned 96-years-old. He attended a secret meeting along with other residents to hear Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. speak.
Dr. LaHarry Norman (aka Dr. Norman LaHarry) – pharmacist who started the Norman LaHarry Scholarship Golf Classic to raise money to fund scholarships for needy students who pursued careers in medicine. He was also inducted into the Afro-American Golfers Hall of Fame.
Alla Fair P. Turner – founder of Kindergarten School in Mound Bayou.
Dr. Alma Rose George – surgeon and third female president of the National Medical Association.
Earl Lucas – served 24 years as Mound Bayou mayor–the second longest term of mayor in Mound Bayou.
Nerrisa Norman – first female mayor of Mound Bayou.
Kennedy Johnson – present mayor of Mound Bayou.
Nellie “Tiger” Travis – blues singer.
Dr. Leatha B. Hayes – family medical doctor and author of Blossom Bit by Bit.

*The list above reflects only a handful of Mound Bayouians who have contributed to their community and not meant to be an exhaustive list.

Thanks to the International Order of Twelve Knights and Daughters of Tabor, Incorporated, I enjoyed having the first hospital that catered to Blacks in Bolivar County—Taborian Hospital in 1942. The members of the organization funded the hospital. The hospital served as a place where Meharry Medical School’s residents could receive proper medical training. However, I am sad to announce the hospital that served so many closed in 1982.

In my 123 year history, my citizens enjoyed having the 1st Olympic size indoor pool in Bolivar County, a mini-zoo, movie theater, tennis court, park, oil mill, bottling company, several cotton gins, several sawmills, funeral parlor, blacksmith shops, newspaper, printing shop, phone company, banks, hotels, gas stations, mom and pop stores, libraries, private and public schools, hair salons, barber shops, churches, apartments, health center, credit union, and etc. Though I have seen a decline in businesses and endured many economic hardships, the people that reside on my land are still as resilient as ever. There are plans in place to help revitalize this Jewel of the Delta. I still have plenty of life left in this old soil.

Thank you for sharing my 123 years of birth and allowing me to recall some of my grandest moments and citizens. I couldn’t imagine sharing this occasion with anyone except you. Thanks again for that lovely introduction. You are welcome to visit me anytime.

Grover Carmicle
July 15th, 2010 on 2:42 pm
Mound Bayou will always be home. I retired after 35 years of teaching because of my early school foundation at Mrs Norman’s(Dr. Norman’s wife)pre-school.

Billy

Miz Tipsy
July 15th, 2010 on 3:53 pm
That’s what I love about Mound Bayouians. No matter where they go or what they accomplish, they all tell the same story. Mound Bayou gave them the foundation necessary to build their future.

sal
July 16th, 2010 on 9:21 pm
Mound Bayou is the Jewel of the Delta and I am proud to be a part of it. However, we still have a long way to go toward rebuilding the city. This is the dream out forefathers would want us to do.The material is very informative and interesting.

Daisy Anderson Griggs
July 26th, 2010 on 8:49 pm
Thank you for having the passion and love in your heart to start the project of rebuilding Mound Bayou and making it a world class city. I have never lived in Mound Bayou, but my grandfather (Ed ANDERSON) and great-grandfather (MARCUS ANDERSON) lived there in the early years of the settlement. In fact, Marcus Anderson was one of the early settlers and helped found the first Church-Green Grove Baptist, according to the records. My father attended the Mound Bayou Training School around 1935 to 1940.

It is wonderful how you are piecing historical records together to build the Mound Bayou story for future generations. That is what I am doing for my family generations as well. I feel connected to Mound Bayou because my father’s ancestors lived there. I look forward to sharing my family history research in the form of a book, which will touch on some Mound Bayou history, including Taborian Hospital and some of the staff there who attended to my mother and grandmother during their lifetime.

Thank you again for your hard work and passion! I look forward to the great work ahead.

Daisy Anderson Griggs

Miz Tipsy
July 27th, 2010 on 12:03 am
Thank you for those kind words…best wishes on your book project.

gloria ward
August 3rd, 2010 on 12:14 am
I love how you have brought Mound Bayou alive again. There are many who knew the story and forgot, and there are those who never knew at all. You have alot of knowledge that needs to be released to the world.